Male runner sets women’s track record days before NCAA bans trans athletes

Just before the NCAA banned transgender-identifying athletes from women’s sports, a male athlete set a school record in indoor track and field.

Rochester Institute of Technology junior Sadie Schreiner set the new mark of 24.46 seconds in the 200-meter on Jan. 30, according to the school, a private NCAA Division III college in Rochester, New York. The record was 0.04 seconds faster than the previous record, also set by Schreiner.

The feat came one week before the NCAA announced its new transgender athlete policy, banning males from women’s sports in compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

Reacting to the news, Schreiner said the NCAA’s decision constituted oppression. 

“This was never about trans athletics, science or ‘fairness.’ It has always been about oppression,” Schreiner told ESPN. “They’ll attack me all the same whether I’m on or off the track, so the only way I’ll stop competing is in handcuffs.” 

As a sophomore last spring, Schreiner came in third in the 200-meter at the NCAA Division III outdoor track national championship meet (24.12 seconds), meaning the runner could have won a national title as a junior or senior had this policy not taken effect. Runners are typically faster outdoors. 

Since Trump signed the order, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Virginia High School League have announced similar policies. Other states will likely follow suit. 

Last week, the Georgia Senate voted 35-17 to pass a bill to ban males from competing in girls’ sports. A transgender athlete ban is also a top priority for Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, the Georgia Recorder reports. 

Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to sign the bill if passed by the House as he and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones oppose males competing in women’s sports. 

Jones created the Senate Special Committee on the Protection of Women’s Sports last year – the commission that recommended the state enact a law banning transgender-identifying athletes from girls’ sports. 

Jones, who attended Trump’s executive order signing ceremony last week, said the decree reflects the state’s values. 

“President Trump’s national priority mirrors what the Georgia Senate has led on since I took office in 2023 – protecting women’s sports and their rights to compete,” he said.